The season is just barely 25% over, and the Sacramento Kings' standout rookie is turning out to be center Maxime Raynaud. In the absence of Domantas Sabonis, he has stepped up in a major way, making him a potential dark horse candidate for the NBA Rookie of the Year.
Rookie drafts vary from year to year. Sometimes, you get an absolute barrage of high-caliber players. Then there are the years that just turn out to be wall-to-wall duds. The 2025 NBA Draft was an absolute banger with several talented young players being chosen to make the NBA leap.
Considering he was drafted number one overall by the Dallas Mavericks, Cooper Flagg has long been the favorite to take home the 2026 Rookie of the Year honors. As it stands right now, he's number two on the Kia Rookie Ladder with Kon Knueppel of the Hornets holding down the top spot on the list.
Despite their disturbingly bad record this season, the Pelicans actually have two contenders for the award in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. They are third and fifth, respectively. The number four spot is currently occupied by Cedric Coward of the Memphis Grizzlies, another team in a rough spot.
Maxime Raynaud could climb the ladder for the Kings
As it stands right now, Raynaud isn't in the top ten players on the Rookie Ladder. But it's important to keep in mind that the season is just over 25% complete, and there is a lot of basketball to play. Everyone on the list is a high-quality player, though everyone goes through a rough patch.
Raynaud has been improving quite consistently all season. In this run without Domantas Sabonis, Maxime has stepped up, playing big minutes and collecting even bigger stats. He has collected double digit points in four of his las five games, and has a season high 25 points.
It's more than scoring, though. Raynaud is rebounding well and is becoming a reliable force on defense. Confidence in Raynaud in Sacramento has grown so much that head coach Doug Christie is using him as a starting center option while Sabonis is off with an injury.
Look, Raynaud has a lot of work to do to get past players like Fears, Flagg, and Knueppel. If he can continue to improve and consistently put up these kinds of numbers over the rest of the season, he'll be making a strong DPOY case and legitimate contender for the award.